Bess The Commoner Queen - The Life and Times of Bess of Hardwick

About this show

A unique insight into the political intrigues of Elizabethan England, as witnessed first-hand by "Bess of Hardwick". Bess was the closest female friend and Lady-in-Waiting to Elizabeth I and, at the same time, confidante to Mary Queen of Scots, whom Bess and her 4th husband (the Earl of Shrewsbury) kept under "house-arrest" for over 15 years until Mary's execution. "Who'd 'ave thought, this Derbyshire lass would one day be tab-hanging between two great queens?" Born a farmer's daughter, Bess "the commoner queen" rose to become the richest woman in Elizabethan England. She created the Cavendish dynasty and became a maker of queens. Her grand-daughter, Arbella Stuart, was second-in-line to James I and groomed by Bess to become queen and Bess counts amongst her descendants our current Queen Elizabeth II and her heirs to the throne via Lady Diana Spencer.